A Shot in the Dark
by StitchSaysHi
Summary: He wasn't that hot. Ok, maybe he was. Maybe he was extremely hot. Maybe he was hot to the point where it should be considered dangerous. But he was also a total jerk.


**A/N: So, yeah, it's been a while since I posted anything. For a while I lost my inspiration for Forgive and Forget, but now that's coming back, and since this stupid game hasn't left my head (Lack of AP will be the death of me I swear), or rather, the hotheaded red head with the smoking problem and easily activated temper has not left my head. So, that all basically translates to NEW STORY! Yay?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Jace. All rights, credit, and everything belongs to ChiNoMiko and BeeMoov and those people.**

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The thrum of a motorcycle engine seemed to echo through the campus as one rolled into the parking lot of Sweet Amoris High School. Students, standing alone, or in groups, turned in confusion to glance for a moment at the newcomer. The rider wore a helmet, concealing her appearance, which to some, was cause to keep watching. Most others eventually shrugged and went back to their conversations. Beneath a tree, steely grey eyes were locked, not on the rider, but on their bike. It was nice. The black paint job was without a scratch and the sound of the engine was like to music to his ears. If he didn't have a habit of being all but completely indifferent to any and all things that took place at Sweet Amoris High, Castiel might just have been interested in this newcomer.

Parking their bike, the rider removed their helmet, revealing a girl with long pitch black hair that, once freed from its confines, fell in slight waves down her back. Crystalline eyes scanned the grounds as she pulled her leg deftly over the side of the bike, standing to her feet. With her helmet in one hand and her bag pulled atop her shoulder, she made her way across the pavement, dressed in a simple outfit which consisted of a white tank top, black skinny jeans, boots, and a leather bomber jacket.

She was certainly different from the rest of the kids at Sweet Amoris, some of whom were still watching her. Bringing his cigarette back to his lips, Castiel looked away, closing his eyes and retreating into the music that played, rather loudly, through his headphones.

The halls were filled with students, standing off to the sides and talking about all the random whatevers as normal high school students did. As out in the parking lot, a few here and there stopped to watch the new girl make her way through the corridors, obviously not having a clue where she was going. But when she was approached by the school's principal, most everyone went back to their conversations. While the short old woman seemed nice enough, there was a certain edge about her that warned that her bad side was one that should be steered clear of. In what seemed like no time at all, she was rushing her off to see the student council president, Nathan or whatever.

Walking into the student council room, heads rose, as did eyebrows, and she wasn't void of understanding. She didn't exactly appear like someone you'd think to find in a place like this. Before she could delve into her own thoughts or assess the room and the people around her, a blonde boy walked up, clad in a white button down and khaki's, with a look of pure confusion written across his features. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for the student council president?"

"Well you've found him. I'm Nathaniel." He held out his hand, and after a second or two of thought, she took it.

"Jacqueline Beckett. Or Jace."

"Ahh, yes, the other new student. One moment." He turned around and after a moment had passed he returned with a paper in hand. "The papers for your enrollment were slightly incomplete when they arrived. You'll still need the $25 registration fee, a photo ID, and you'll need to fill out this enrollment form."

_Ok, right down to business then._ Taking the paper from his hands, the girl set her helmet with an audible thud, earning a flinch from at least three people in the room, who were used to the atmosphere being a quiet one. Sitting down and grabbing a pen from the pocket of her messenger bag, Jace set to filling out the form, which consisted of standard information: full name, date of birth, contact information for her parent/guardian, social security, and the works. While her file had already been sent over, and it contained all the information she was now writing out, this sort of thing was just mandatory, a part of the process. However that didn't make it any less tedious.

Once the form was properly filled out, Jace stood, rummaged through her bag for her wallet, and pulled out $25 worth in bills, and an emergency photo ID, and handed them over to the boy, who still looked a bit uncomfortable. In the few seconds or so it took him to take the things from her hand, she studied him. Despite his cookie-cutter clothing choices, he wasn't really that hard on the eyes. He just wasn't her type.

"Ok, almost done. This year it has been made mandatory that all students participate in a club or school organization. As the term has already started, most all the clubs are filled. However there are openings in both the basketball club and the gardening club, so take your pick."

The choice was an easy one. "Basketball." It wasn't that Jace was against getting her hands dirty, it was just that flowers were far from her thing. She'd never been that great with plants. With a nod, Nathaniel was off, putting things away and wandering around, doing this and that. She wasn't really paying that much attention.

A minute or two passed and, accented by the sound of typing, a printer, and the scratch of a pen on a sticky note, and then he was back, handing her yet another paper. "Alright. This is your schedule, and your locker number and combination, and you're done. Welcome to Sweet Amoris High. If you need any help getting to your classes, come find me."

With a curt nod, Jace backed out of the room, and without looking, crashed right into something. No, someone. Three someones. Girls.

"Um, excuse you?" Turning, Jacqueline came face to face with what looked to be a human reincarnation of a barbie doll.

"Sorry." Running a hand through her dark hair, the girl looked at the trio before her. While she'd always been told not to judge a book by its cover, it had become a bit of a habit, so when she assessed the three girls as being the "populars", or in Mean Girls terms, "the Plastics", she didn't think to wait and see how the current situation played out before making her judgement.

"I'm sure you are." The blonde pursed her lips, not the best look on her, and Jace rose a brow. "You the new girl?"

She simply nodded. "Yeah. Jac-" The leader of the pack cut her off._ Yep. Plastics._

"With you and that other loser, it doesn't look like we gained much, does it girls?"

_Ouch. I'm hurt. Truly. The Barbie Doll doesn't like me. Now what am I going to do with my life?_ Though her mind was rampant with snark and sarcasm, none of it left her lips. Luckily, she knew better than to start drama on her first day. Instead, Jace rolled her eyes, and after a moment, the girls took the hint and scampered off.

Like the commercials would say: But wait, there's more!

"Hey! Hey Jace!"

That voice... Turning around, Jace was met with two hazel eyes magnified by large glasses and accompanied by the distinct smell of chocolate chip cookies. "Ken?"

"Yeah! It's me! I transferred here!" He seemed awfully excited, not that it was anything new. He'd always been like that. Kentin and Jacqueline had been neighbors growing up, and she'd always sort of taken it upon herself to keep him out of harms way, given his size and generally shy, nerdy demeanor. Somewhere along the way he'd developed a crush, and it was most likely that crush which had led him here.

"Uhhh, cool. So have you already finished up your registration?"

As always, he was quick to answer. "Yeah! My dad made sure everything was in order when I got here. This school is so big!"

And, as she had done many times before, Jace made sure what replies she gave were neutral. She didn't want to be mean to Ken, and at times, she did enjoy his company, but he sometimes came off as a bit...strange. "It's definitely bigger than our old school. Big enough that I still haven't seen it all, and I've gotta find out where some of this stuff is. I'll catch you later, ok?" He grinned, and she gave a small smile of her own. He really was a god kid, he just needed to grow up a bit.

As the day flew by, Jace's classes proved relentlessly boring. She was late for her third period, Math, and when she walked in, she was forced under the scrutinizing gazes of her peers. After a few short words from the teacher, she resigned herself to the back of the room. She took the only seat available, which placed her next to a guy with a classic rocker goth look and hair that would put a firetruck to shame. He didn't say anything, not that she expected him to, but she found herself having given him a glance or two by the time the bell rang once more. So far, out of all the students she'd met or seen, which, since that morning had grown with the addition of a ginger-haired girl with fur on her shorts, and another member of the student council, he seemed the most...normal. At least, by her terms.

When lunch rolled around Jace found herself outside, wandering the grounds and debating on whether or not she felt like going to her next class. Science had never been her best subject. Noticing a head of bright red hair, Jace moved without thinking across the grass and over to the boy from her math class, who currently leaned against a tree, some distance away from the rest of the students who'd made the decision to eat outside. Letting her own weight rest against the bark, she nodded in his direction.

"Got a light?" Grey eyes met her own, and it seemed as though he was glaring. Had she done something? Reaching in her bag, she pulled out the small box of cigarettes and pulled one out. At one point in time she'd attempted to quit, but in the end she'd just succumbed._ Life sucks and then you die, so why not live a little while you can?_ Her philosophy was, if the smoking didn't kill her, her bike might one day, so it was really just a race to see which made her bite the bullet first, so to speak.

After a moment, the boy in front of her nodded, pulling a black lighter out of his pocket and producing a flame. Had she been looking, she might have noticed the almost-smirk. "How'd you know I had one?"

"I could smell it on you when I sat down." Honestly, besides his hair, that familiar smell of smoke and nicotine had been one of the first things she'd noticed about him, other than, perhaps, his shirt.

"You got a name?" His voice was neutral, but held the mildest hint of curiosity, giving away the fact that, for the most part, he didn't care, but on some level, he did actually want an answer.

"Loads. The main one, as per my birth certificate, is Jacqueline. But, I've found Jace is much better. Or 'new girl'. I seem to have gotten that a lot today...You?" Lifting the stick to her lips, she inhaled the menthol into her lungs and let her eyes flutter closed for a second. She still remembered the first time she'd tried smoking, and the image of a coughing, spluttering girl was a far cry from the practiced addict she was now. Though, addict was a bit strong of a word...

"Castiel." His answer remained simple and sharp, and for a moment, Jace had resigned herself to the fact that this lunch was most likely going to be a predominately quiet one, but then he spoke again. "That your bike from this morning?"

Without looking at him, she nodded. "Yep. Few years old but runs like new." After a second or two, she did look at him, and motioned down towards his shirt. "You like them?"

He glanced down once and leaned back. "That's generally the reason for wearing their shirt. Why? Did you see them on a poster at Hot Topic?"

Jace rolled her eyes. _Oh so he's a smartass._ "Funny. I went to one of their gigs last spring."

Her reply seemed to almost have earned her a response, but she'd settle for the raised eyebrow and the half-smirk. "Cool. I don't know many girls who listen to them."

"Well, now you know _one_." She smiled a bit, and leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree, and the majority of the rest of lunch was spent in silence, save for a few comments made here and there. All in all, it seemed as though despite his passiveness and general disinterest, Castiel was an ok guy, albeit a little off-putting and, if her guess was correct, probably relatively easy to anger. She wouldn't know, as she'd hardly said enough things to really know what made him tick. Once again, judging a book. It really wasn't the best habit to keep, and one day it was probably going to come back and bite her in the ass, but today, it seemed, was not going to be that day.

When the bell rang, signaling the students to head to their next class, an audible sigh left Jace's lips, followed by...a chuckle?

"Already tired of this place?" This time, Jace was sure she caught a smile tugging at the edge of the red-haired boy's lips, but it didn't last long. In response to his question, she nodded slightly.

"That obvious?"

"Just a bit. If you're dreading it so much, why not just skip?"

"Is that an invitation?" Her voice picked up a bit at the end of her question, adding an almost sarcastic tone to her words.

"It's a suggestion." Castiel's voice, however, remained as neutral as it had all lunch.

"One I might just take up on." Her dark pitch colored hair blew in her face a bit as she turned to pass a glance at the school. It was only her first day and she was already not looking forward to all the ones that would follow.

"Well, in that case." Suddenly he grabbed her hand and started pulling her away, almost making her jump. She hadn't given him a definitive answer, but, curious as to where he was leading her, she let him drag her along. On their way back towards the building, Jace caught the eye of the blonde girl from earlier, who, upon seeing her and the company she was keeping at the moment, did not look happy.

Though she tried to keep track of which hallways they walked through and attempted to make note of the ones she needed to remember, it was just all too rushed, and soon, Jace found her hand returned to freedom and herself, standing on the roof.

_Is this the part where he throws me over then laughs maniacally and disappears in an invisible hovercraft?_

"And we're here why?"

"It's better than a classroom, isn't it?"

It was, actually. From atop the roof, Jace could see practically the whole city, from the park, to the Dollar Shop, to her own apartment building. While it wasn't the most exciting thing she could have been doing, in the end it _was_ better than sitting through a Science class.

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**A/N: So...first chapter basically just follows the story of the first episode of the game, but I promise, later chapters will bring a story all their own. I've got ideas rattling around in my head. So, read, review, tell me what you think!**


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